EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Lipsey Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lipsey (Lab) [V]]

Classical music has been doing its bit for the unity of Europe for many centuries before the EU was even thought of. Think of the immigrant composer, Handel; the great itinerant performer, Liszt; the great conductor, Rattle; and the great orchestras. Europe does not have a common language but in music it has a common theme which, however, is expressed in different accents in different countries. Classical music is European.

The Government’s Brexit deal, as it stands, jeopardises all that. There is no Erasmus to support European musicians in our great music conservatoires. There are obstacles to touring, as British musicians become “third-country nationals” needing to comply with the rules of each member state when they try to tour; musical instrument certificates for £100-plus are only available through certain ports; and lorries are restricted to three internal movements—how does that work with a great orchestral tour? I could go on.

To be fair, during the Covid crisis the Government have been very alert to the cultural sector and its financial needs. They said they were going to do the same for music in the Brexit negotiations; many Ministers are on embarrassing record saying so. They have totally failed. What are they doing about it? Surprise, surprise, they are blaming the EU, as the noble Lord, Lord True, did again today. Pathetic.

If music had had half the attention paid to it as was paid to fish, an industry a quarter of its size, we would not be in this hole. We must not let today’s diminuendo for music be the end of our great European symphony.